NEW Amazon Fire 7 Tablet (2019)

For starters, I love Amazon. Who doesn't? And my old Ipad is starting to finally kick the proverbial dust after years of abuse. The battery is finally starting to take forever to charge, and there's lagging issues due to it being so old, and the updates are just killing it more. But it is still beloved to my four year old, who somehow commandeered it. All that being said, I was so excited when it finally came in! It looked awesome, was a little different with the controls all at the top, including the volume, power, charging port, and headphone jack, with the speaker not at the bottom of the device but on the left side, which was an odd placement I thought after I put a case on it, and I typically hold it where the speaker is located. The opposite side close to the top is the slot for an SD card. There are no front buttons as it's fully touchscreen also. I already knew before going in that you could not use Goggle Play, although I'm sure there's a way to get around it. I basically wanted to use it for videos for both myself and my daughter, games, and the occasional book and web browsing. Now, keep in mind we have super fast Internet. When I first started the Fire tablet, there was the required set up process, which didn't take long, just the basics such as adding wifi, signing in, etc. I did purchase the tablet with "special offers" as it did not bother me to see the ads on the lock screen. Once on, it was a pretty nice setup, especially for those that are already "in" with Amazon as it shows a Home screen with my recent book/audiobook purchases up top, then all my apps below it, the next page shows Books, and includes some books from my library as well as recommendations below it, Videos is next, followed by Games, Shop (which was so odd as it shows things I've looked at), Apps, Music, and Newsstand. So basically, if you do a lot of Amazon shopping, listen to Audible as well as Amazon Music, watch Amazon videos, and read Kindle books, then this might be for you. If you don't use Amazon that frequently, then I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a regular tablet, one that is not hardwired for their Amazon customers. Now in my personal use, because I do use a lot of their services, I do like it. But it's also dang annoying. I suppose it's coming from having owned Apple devices, and Samsung devices that I find this tablet to lag tremendously. Actual startup from the time you press the power button takes about 40 seconds to pop on. Not too shabby, but there is a lag from opening the lock screen to opening apps that isn't apparent in a good quality Apple or Samsung product. And let's not forget the horrible lag from going from one profile to the next. It takes forever, and at this point, I finally erased the profile I set up for my daughter. I loved that I would be able to limit her usage as we already do that, but in this way she couldn't even get on without my code. You can download what apps they can use, and manage their profile fully, which is great! But on the flip side, I can't seem to figure out how to get back to my profile without shutting the whole thing down or restarting it as it opens right to her page versus the lock screen when opened back up. And as I previously stated, you can use the Amazon apps, but there aren't as many apps as can be found in Apple. There are some I love to use, and they do not have them available at all, which sucks. Amazon's browsing is called Silk, and works fine, although I still find it slow with fast Internet. The quality of the screen and the battery are two other issues that are definitely cheap and sub par. The screen quality on browsing has the slightly blurred look of a cheap android tablet. Words are ok, such as in an article, but pictures are blurred, and even video is not that clear or crisp. The battery is also very weak I've found. I've had my phone on since six this morning, and turned the tablet on around 10 this morning. My phone, which I've used all morning to make calls, text, watch a few video's, look at FB, browse, etc., is down to 76% battery. The tablet, which I've used to download four apps and had maybe about 20 minutes of use and has been on standby is down to 75%. The battery does not last long at all. If you watch even a few videos on the tablet, you can easily watch the percentage slowly bottom out. The camera is what you would normally find on a cheap tablet, and I wasn't expecting much nor did I get much in return. The kindle portion is fantastic, and I can read easily on it, but I also own a Kindle, and I prefer that to this as the glare is greatly reduced even though you can change the page color and brightness of the screen. I do like seeing the book covers in color though, and maps or things throughout the book that would normally be colored, but otherwise it is still nice to be able to read on it well. Alexa works totally well, and it's easy to use, and I like the fact that you can use Alexa to play some games. My daughter is fascinated with her. In all, this is an okay basic entry tablet that's good for watching videos, and is more tuned towards Prime members who have a lot of Amazon features already. I'm going to keep it as I wanted something cheap for my youngest daughter to watch videos and keep her occupied, and for my occasional browsing. But if you want a crystal clear screen, no lag, and better selection of apps, then I would definitely recommend going with an Apple or different Android device.